18.The Names

The Names
"Miss Trunchbull!" Matilda cried, jumping about a foot in the air. "You mean she is your aunt?
She brought you up?"
"Yes," Miss Honey said.
"No wonder you were terrified¹!" Matilda cried. "The other day we saw her grab² a girl by the
pigtails and throw her over the playground fence³!"
"You haven't seen anything," Miss Honey said. "After my father died, when I was five and a half,
she used to make me bath myself all alone. And if she came up and thought I hadn't washed
properly she would push my head under the water and hold it there. But don't get me started on
what she used to do. That won't help us at all."
"No," Matilda said, "it won't."
"We came here", Miss Honey said," to talk about you and I've been talking about nothing but
myself the whole time. I feel like a fool. I am much more interested in just how much you can do
with those amazing eyes of yours."
"I can move things," Matilda said. "I know I can. I can push things over."
"How would you like it", Miss Honey said, "if we made some very cautious⁴ experiments to see
just how much you can move and push?"
Quite surprisingly, Matilda said, "If you don't mind, Miss Honey, I think I would rather not. I want
to go home now and think and think about all the things I've heard this afternoon."
Miss Honey stood up at once. "Of course," she said. "I have kept you here far too long. Your
mother will be starting to worry."
"She never does that," Matilda said, smiling. "But I would like to go home now please, if you don't
mind."
"Come along then," Miss Honey said. "I'm sorry I gave you such a rotten⁵ tea."
"You didn't at all," Matilda said. "I loved it."
The two of them walked all the way to Matilda's house in complete silence. Miss Honey sensed
that Matilda wanted it that way. The child seemed so lost in thought she hardly looked where she
was walking, and when they reached the gate of Matilda's home, Miss Honey said, "You had
better forget everything I told you this afternoon."
"I won't promise to do that," Matilda said, "but I will promise not to talk about it to anyone any
more, not even to you."
"I think that would be wise," Miss Honey said.
"I won't promise to stop thinking about it, though, Miss Honey," Matilda said. "I've been thinking
about it all the way back from your cottage and I believe I've got just a tiny little bit of an idea."
"You mustn't," Miss Honey said. "Please forget it."
"I would like to ask you three last things before
I stop talking about it," Matilda said. "Please will you answer them, Miss Honey?"
Miss Honey smiled. It was extraordinary, she told herself, how this little snippet of a girl seemed
suddenly to be taking charge of her problems, and with such authority⁶, too. "Well," she said, "that
depends on what the questions are."
"The first thing is this," Matilda said. "What did Miss Trunchbull call your father when they were
around the house at home?"
"I'm sure she called him Magnus," Miss Honey said. "That was his first name."
"And what did your father call Miss Trunchbull?"
"Her name is Agatha," Miss Honey said. "That's what he would have called her."
"And lastly," Matilda said, "what did your father and Miss Trunchbull call you around the house?"
"They called me Jenny," Miss Honey said.
Matilda pondered⁷ these answers very carefully. "Let me make sure I've got them right," she said.
"In the house at home, your father was Magnus, Miss Trunchbull was Agatha and you were Jenny.
Am I right?"
"That is correct," Miss Honey said.
"Thank you," Matilda said. "And now I won't mention the subject any more."
Miss Honey wondered what on earth was going on in the mind of this child. "Don't do anything
silly," she said.
Matilda laughed and turned away and ran up the path to her front-door, calling out as she went,
"Good-bye, Miss Honey! Thank you so much for the tea."

1 terrified   

adj.很害怕的，极度惊慌的，吓坏了的v.使恐怖，使惊吓，恐吓( terrify的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• the crying of terrified children 小孩受了惊吓的哭声
• I'm terrified of flying. 我十分害怕坐飞机。

2 grab   

vt./n.攫取，抓取；vi.攫取，抓住(at)

参考例句：

• It is rude to grab a seat.抢占座位是不礼貌的。
• The thief made a grab at my bag but I pushed him away.贼想抢我的手提包，但被我推开了。

3 fence   

n.围墙，剑术；v.用篱笆围住，练习剑术，防护；[计算机]栅栏

参考例句：

• They put a fence around the garden.他们在园子的周围建起了篱笆。
• The thief jumped himself over a fence and escaped.贼纵身跃过篱笆逃走了。

4 cautious   

adj.十分小心的，谨慎的

参考例句：

• We should not only be bold,but also be cautious.我们不仅要大胆，而且要谨慎。
• He was cautious about his work.他对工作非常谨慎。

5 rotten   

adj.腐烂(朽)的；令人不愉快的；糟糕的

参考例句：

• The book was pretty rotten.这本书糟透了。
• Rotten eggs give off a bad smell.臭蛋散发出难闻的气味。

6 authority   

n.当局，官方；权力，权威，威信；当权者

参考例句：

• He is recognized internationally as an authority in this field.国际上承认他是这方面的一个权威。
• Professor White is looked upon as an authority on mathematics.怀特教授被看成数学权威。

7 pondered   

考虑( ponder的过去式和过去分词 )； 深思熟虑； 沉思； 琢磨

参考例句：

• She pondered over his words. 她反复琢磨他的话。
• She pondered his marriage proposal for weeks. 几个星期以来她认真地考虑着他的求婚。